Ieq Capital LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Ieq Capital LLC boosted its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 13.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,234 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,694 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $2,068,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ROST. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the first quarter worth about $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the first quarter worth about $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 262.1% in the second quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 210 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the second quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 41.8% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 251 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total value of $7,524,868.05. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total transaction of $7,524,868.05. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total value of $2,266,099.14. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 11,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,694,665.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 72,138 shares of company stock valued at $11,093,051 in the last quarter. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ ROST opened at $154.31 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $51.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.56. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $147.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $143.09. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $108.35 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.25 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.43% and a net margin of 9.82%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.32 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be given a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com raised Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Bank of America lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.71.

Ross Stores Company Profile

Ross Stores, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates off-price retail apparel and home fashion stores under the Ross Dress for Less and dd’s DISCOUNTS brand names in the United States. Its stores primarily offer apparel, accessories, footwear, and home fashions. The company’s Ross Dress for Less stores sell its products at department and specialty stores to middle income households; and dd’s DISCOUNTS stores sell its products at department and discount stores for households with moderate income.